Precious Metals
by White Katsu
Summary: Mark awakens in a strange, bizarre new world and must learn to cope with the changes.
1. Abrupt Adjustments

_(Author's Note)_

 _Welcome to my main running Fanfic. ^^; I'm likely to update it more frequently than others and may even go back to tweak previous chapters. Please be gentle with Mark and me, we're not usually public._

* * *

Mark groaned as he sat up, rubbing his forehead. His mind was muddled and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what happened. Slowly he opened his eyes, first one, then the other, wincing as they adjusted to the scene around him.

It was _different_. Vastly different than what he was used to. He swallowed hard and looked at the foreign stone walls around him, the lush green grass beneath him, the bench he was resting on between two potted, manicured trees. A gasp through his nose at the change in scenery only brought an even more startling revelation.

There was no metal. He took a deeper breath through his nose, determined to pick up a scent somehow.

Nothing. No metal. Well… there was metal, but nothing near like the steel-rich city of his home, where the towers stood several hundred feet. Just a faint scent of metallic accents around, as if there were only a couple metal lamps, people wearing metal, but nothing like he was used to. No massive buildings of pure metal, no vehicles rumbling around with the scent of their alloys filling his nostrils with their appetizing allure.

He sat up, clinging to himself. Father… Father was going to be absolutely FURIOUS. This made him choke on a whimper. He knew he had been trying to escape his angry, abusive father before he blacked out. There was just something so … off. So different.

Then he figured it out. He closed his eyes to shut out all distractions, trying to focus. Usually there was a feeling deep inside, more at the base of his neck, almost near his collar bone, a faint tugging sensation that would lead him home whenever he got lost. Even when he had been sent on a field trip across the continent he had felt it.

But there was none here.

No pull, nothing.

His eyes flung open in horror. There was no pull, no tug, no way to find his location, no … No home. This sent an abnormal shiver down his spine. He immediately stood and looked around. All around him were stone-hewn walls polished white. He seemed to be set between an outer wall and the back side of a building, potted trees lining the wall as it twisted around the building. He stood and looked at the lush grass under his feet that seemed to thrive in spite of the cold nip in the air. He slinked towards the only way out… and froze at the site that greeted him beyond the buildings.

It was a town. No, a city. A city very unlike the cold grey city of noisy cars and flashing lights he was used to, but a city nonetheless. The buildings were elegantly made, white and purple and gold, with blue banners and crystals adorning them and brightly coloured glass windows in many of the buildings. He was so engrossed in the sheer beauty that he almost missed the inhabitants. But he was quick to notice now. Yes, humans, of course humans, but so many other beings that the humans seemed only a fraction of the population. There were werewolf-like beings, upright walking bovines, chubby panda-men. There were tusked beings with three fingers, blue cloven-hooved men, and angry looking orcs. There were also dwarves, small green goblins, short gnomes, undead... And to top it off, not one, but two different types of elves, one race normal-sized and pale skinned, the other massively tall and blue hued.

He was both awed and terrified at so many different types of beings in one place, all acting relatively tolerant of each other. Sure, there seemed to be a type of rift as half the races would go into one outlet but none of the other races would follow, but for the most part, they were accepting each other's company.

He was about to give into his curiousity and edge out of hiding when a roar from above sounded and he looked up, his eyes widening and breath disappearing.

A red drake was diving for the city streets, tanned wings flaring at the last minute as it came to a landing, roaring triumphantly before the head craned back, the drake lowering itself as the night-like elf rider climbed off, patting its scaly hide.

Mark cowered, dragons? Real, breathing dragons, that let elves ride them?! What was this place?

As the elf left the dragon, it lifted its wings to take off, but stopped, head lifting. The deep "whuffing" of it sniffing the air could be heard by the albino as he tried to pin himself between the wall and tree, hoping he'd remain hidden.

The dragon spied him, wings folding as the head rolled to one side inquisitively, the beast idly sauntered up to him, sniffing him.

Mark stiffened against the tree, leaning as far back into it as he could, ignoring the major discomfort that resulted from such an action. "N-n… I'm not f-food."

The dragon's head tilted to look at up, mirth seemed to sparkle in its golden eyes.

"Orostraz, leave the poor boy alone!" the dragon's elf called. She came up and put a hand on the dragon's flank, smiling at Mark. "He's harmless, I promise. He just gets too curious."

The drake whuffed a puff of smoke in mild annoyance, snuffling Mark some more.

"H-h-he won't … eat me, will he?" Mark's question was interrupted by the woman-elf's laughter.

"Of course he won't! What makes you think dragons eat people for no reason?" She grinned at him.

Mark glanced between the two, his body stiffening almost painfully rigid between the tree and the wall. "I-I'm not from around here."

She chuckled. "Could've fooled me. Just don't worry about Orostraz, he's harmless, I promise." She pushed on his head. "Let the poor thing be, you silly drake. You're giving him a heart attack." She then turned to leave to return to whatever errand she was doing. Mark glanced around to see if anyone looked the least bit concerned. No one seemed to notice at all. Actually, now that he looked more, he saw a few other dragons with humans.

The red dragon called to a bronze-scaled one. They seemed to have a short conversation before the bronze finally came over, huffing, then glancing at Mark, before nudging the red one aside with a scolding sound. It gave Mark a tentative sniff, before the head tilted. The drakes seemed to draw other attention as other dragons seemed to understand the conversation. Soon a colourful collection of dragons was surrounding him, sniffing and chattering.

Among the coloured drakes a white one was trying to push its way in, hopping and hovering and nudging to get closer.

A dark blue one turned to a brown-and-black one, and they started to bicker over something, before a shark-like glowing dragon approached with a strange, hulky beast behind it. The new creature seemed to be a dragon as well, but its appearance was far more … primitive. Tiny forearms seemed to hang uselessly from its chest while the thick wings acted as another pair of arms, bracing its weight.

The odd dragon bellowed, quieting the other dragons, before coming up to Mark, sniffing it with a large gruff snout. It made a surprised snort, turning to the sharklike dragon and chuffing.

The older dragon (or at least Mark assumed it was, the way the other dragons backed up a bit made the primitive looking beast seem like the elder) huffed, roaring at the group, causing them to scoot back. For good measure it flared its wings.

By now, most of their human- and humanoid-partners came by and were trying to usher them away from the terrified albino.

The elder dragon turned to glance at him, tilting its head before giving a sort of … nod? Almost like a greeting or something, before it too began to leave.

It stopped at the still lingering white dragon, trying to nudge it away, but the pale reptile huffed, dodging the nose.

The elder left with a snort as a small gnome hurried over.

"Blast, you conniving devil, come back here!" she huffed in a pitch that made Mark's ears flinch, trying to catch up to the white dragon.

Its wings drooped as it stayed put, giving her a protest but nothing more.

"I know it's crowded at the stables, but if you wanna find a proper home, you can't be running off like that!" She stopped to catch her breath.

Mark looked between them confused. "S-stables? You keep dragons in s-stables?"

She looked up, a bit surprised, before giggling, a sound that struck Mark as sounding like someone inhaled a balloon of helium and got too giddy. "No, silly! Well, not usually. I run the Dalaran pet and mount stable. Not only do I sell mounts and pets, I keep them for people staying in Dalaran. This big guy here just doesn't like being cooped up, but he can't very well survive on his own."

Mark glanced between the short gnome and the white dragon. "He c-can't?"

She shook her head, "He was found when he was a whelp and we can't figure out what flight he's from to give him a home with other dragons, as sometimes flights take care of their own. But he's albino so he can't very well sneak up on his prey, though he manages a bit on his own. Problem is, he'd need a companion to make sure he had a proper diet and could sleep in a safe place."

Mark carefully slinked from his place next to the rough tree, much to the relief of his senses. He looked at the pale eyes of the beast as it patiently awaited her, and he could see … despair. Again he took another step closer.

"What were you doing by that tree anyway? Looked like you were trying to make like a druid and BE the tree." She giggled at her own joke.

"Uhm, I just … got attention from a couple dragons, and it surprised me." He felt guilty for the half-lie but he didn't really want more attention. There was just something about this particular one that drew him. "So … what, you treat them like mounts?"

"Dragons are usually held in higher regard because they are very intelligent," she responded, "they're more like compatriots than simple mounts, but sometimes you get a cruel person now and again who hurts them just because they can. I tend to do checks on all my clients because I love my beasts and want them to be cared for and loved as part of the family." She looked at Mark curiously after she finished her answer.

Mark's natural pose was slumped, hiding his height, though it wasn't hard to feel tall around a knee-knocker gnome. This pose made his walk look more like a slinking motion as he moved up to the dragon, his gaze completely riveted.

The dragon noticed Mark's diminishing proximity and lifted its head to look at him, keeping still as if it didn't want to startle him.

"Do you … have a mount?" she asked.

Mark shook his head and reached a trembling hand to the nose of the beast. "I … just kinda got here…"

The dragon seemed to pick up on Mark's nervousness and moved slowly but deliberately, pushing its nose into his open palm.

Mark's lips twitched a bit in a flicker of a smile, feeling the smooth, armor-like scales under his hand. They were warm, feeling pleasant in his chilled fingers. He was trying so hard not to, but he felt a deep bond forming with this creature. "D… Does he have a name?" He glanced in the gnome's direction.

She smiled knowingly and shook her head. "I try not to name the ones I'm selling, or I'll get too attached and not be able to sell."

The tiny flicker of a smile he had quickly snuffed itself out at the mention of selling. His gaze dropped to the ground as he reluctantly pulled his hand away from the nose. A sad 'whuff' signaled the dragon's upset that their bonding was broken.

"What's the matter, dear?" she asked, tilting her head.

"W-well… I … have no money." He couldn't bear to look at the dragon, lest he see the soulful eyes. "So I wouldn't be able to buy him."

"He sure does like you, though," she observed as the dragon took a step towards the strange albino, nudging his elbow.

Mark finally forced himself to look at the dragon.

"What about you work to pay for him? Help me clean the stables and care for the animals?"

Mark couldn't help as his ears lifted a bit, his hair rippling around them. "D-do you think I could? I mean, h-how long would that take?"

She laughed that helium-pitched laugh again. "We can worry about that later, I'm sure a couple of months would be more than enough."

Mark had to fight to keep the smile from revealing his teeth. "I would love it, thank you, Miss … erm…" He felt embarrassment well up.

"Breanni." She smiled. "And you are?"

"Mark."

"Then come, let me show you where you're gonna work for a bit!" She turned around and seemed to almost jog down the street, while Mark and the dragon merely strolled leisurely beside her.

The building itself didn't look that big, but she lead him past the outer area, where – she explained – she sold and tended to official business, to the stables. And that was such a poor word for it. Each creature had a pen, yes, but it was a large and roomy pen with toys and water and food and all the necessities, as well as a window if they wanted to bask in sunlight. Mark was looking around, the dragon trailing shortly behind him, barely noticing that she had stopped until he nearly tripped over her. "S-s-sorry!" he squeaked.

She was quick to take a couple steps forward to put space between them, brushing herself off. "Don't worry, dear, it happens." Though her tone still sounded a bit bitter, and Mark couldn't blame her. His cheeks flushed from embarrassment. And that's when she noticed, craning her head to look up at him. "Are you blushing?"

The question only added fuel to the golden fire and he tried to hide his face. "I just feel bad for almost stepping on you."

"No, no, it's not that." She motioned him to kneel.

He was hesitant, swallowing hard against his mounting fear. Normally by now, things would start going downhill. The dragon put its chin on Mark's head, heavily, which made his kneels involuntarily buckle and he knelt awkwardly. What blush he had was now starting to drain in pale fear, but there was still enough for her to study.

"Ooh, such a lovely colour!" she remarked, throwing Mark offguard.

"E…Eh, … what?"

"I've never seen someone blush like that. Nightelves are fun if you can get them to blush, because they get so very purple, but never have I seen an amber blush! You must have fascinating skin or blood to do something like that!" She reached up to pat his cheek.

Mark flinched away, almost stumbling backwards from his over-reaction.

Her expression was one of surprise and a bit of sorrow. "I wasn't going to hurt you, honey."

He was quick to stand up, almost running into the dragon. "S-s-sorry."

Her gaze softened as she watched him. "You … seem to apologize a lot."

Mark opened his mouth to stammer another apology, before quickly shutting it, eyes now off to the side. He really didn't want her to press the matter, if his father could come here and found out, he'd be livid if he told someone, and he didn't want to deal with that.

Thankfully, she seemed to accept his silence and after watching him a bit, slowly turned around. "Basically you'll change the hay out once a day and make sure they have plenty of water and food. Some of them have special needs, like this one," she motioned to a large, six-legged lizard, a laugh forming in her voice, "His hunter claims he likes to over-eat so we have to measure his food. Don't look directly at it, Mark."

Mark's eyes had started to drift towards the creature, but were quick to stop and focus back on Breanni. "W-why?"

"Basilisk. His gaze can turn you to stone."

"H-how does his hunter manage?"

"I don't know. I'm not a hunter myself, personally. I have to keep charms on me to stop any impairing spells when I tend to them." She began to walk through, leading between the stables.

Mark couldn't believe the creatures there. If a basilisk was strange, the other creatures were stranger. Giant insects of varying types, wolves so large they could look him in the eye, saber-toothed tigers with long tails, and…

He stopped short. "That's a dinosaur," he stated simply, shocked.

Breanni stopped and followed his gaze. "Yes, a raptor."

"It's a _dinosaur_ ," he emphasized. "How is there a _dinosaur_?"

"Her hunter wanted her taken care of while he tended to some business in the underbelly."

"They're _extinct_ , how is there a…"

The dragon nudged Mark's back, making him yelp a bit in surprise and discomfort.

"Well," she giggled, "Apparently they're not that extinct. There's quite a few different species of raptor, even. Oh, have you seen a devilsaur?"

Mark looked at her, expression blank.

"I take that as a no! Come!" she happily led the way down between large cobras and winged serpents and strange thorny giant lizards to a pen with metal guards. "This is Sprinkles."

Mark peaked through the metal to see a towering dinosaur-like creature, similar to T-rex but with large spikes sprouting from its back. He squeaked and stumbled back, running into the dragon. "T-th-that's 'SPRINKLES'?"

She giggled again. "Yep. Darling little thing, ain't she?"

Mark ogled. Not only was he staring at a beast easily twice his height, but a gnome that could kiss his knee if she stood tall was calling it 'little'. "Little?! Little is the LAST word I'd use."

"But you don't deny she's darling!"

Mark hesitated, "I reserve that judgement for when I get to know her better." Though he had to admit, through his panic and outbursts, the giant beast only watched him, head tilted and keen blue eyes sparkling. If it really was a deadly dinosaur, it would've likely fed on his terror and lashed out.

She giggled as she walked through a gap in the metal gate. "Fair enough."

Mark was quick to jump up, going to the gate, "B-but wait!" That beast could swallow her without noticing, what was she doing?

She merely walked up to the dinosaur and gave the nose a fond rub.

The massive rex's lips curled back and it rumbled, which made the albino panic, until he realized it was … purring?

"Who's a good girl? Who's a good girl?" the tiny gnome praised the giant beast, lavishing it with attention.

It lolled its head on the ground, bumping her slightly with the mighty nose.

Mark stared in awe. "This … is not happening."

A rhythmatic huffing beside him drew his attention, and he noticed the dragon's shoulders shook.

"Are you … laughing at me?" he asked, staring at the creature.

"What, never seen a dragon laugh?" the tiny voice squeaked as she returned from the devilsaur.

"Before today, I'd never even seen a dragon," Mark replied, looking down at her. "Thought they were just a myth."

"No dragons, no dinosaurs, sheesh, there's nothing where you live, is there?" she brushed her little knees as she lead the way back up front.

"Just … metal. Pretty much."

"We got metal here." She motioned back at the gate. "The only reason Sprinkles has to have that gate is city code."

"But … where I'm from, everything is metal. Sort of. I mean, buildings, huge buildings of metal and glass, and cars, and planes and computers and—"

"Okay, now _you_ are losing _me_."

Mark shrugged a bit, "About time someone besides me was confused." He suddenly clamped his hands over his mouth, the gold rising to his cheeks, "I am so sorry, that was so rude."

She laughed at his embarrassment, "Oh it's fine, honey. About time you started to loosen up."

Mark looked back at the white dragon ever on his tail. He wasn't sure he knew _how_ to, not with all these insane changes to his world view.

"Now, I'm about to close down shop for today. You'll be here at six in the morning?"

Mark hesitated. "… How will I know what time it is?"

"When the tower chimes six."

A bell tower. Oh that's good, he sighed in relief. "Yes. I will."

"Alright!" She quickly went to the white dragon, leading him to his pen.

Mark only watched, barely following her. As she got distracted with closing, he briefly wondered where he'd sleep… until he turned around, walking back down the stalls, glancing at the beasts around him, some only held back by some ropes, others having entire gates. Once he made it to the dragon's pen, he slipped through the ropes.

The dragon lifted its head to look at him curiously.

"Well, I have nowhere else to go," he responded, shrugging. "Mind if I join you?"

The dragon quickly stood up and walked over to him, head leaning over Mark's shoulder in what he could only guess was some sort of hug.

Mark grinned despite himself, wrapping his arms around the scaly neck. "Thanks."

* * *

 _goes without saying but duh, I don't own world of warcraft or breanni. I only 'own' Mark._


	2. Taking a Turn

_(A/N) I'm going to be posting all the chapters I've worked up on. Sorry-not-sorry. ^^;_

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When the time came, Mark wasn't awoken by the bells, at first he had, but the third hour got him to tune it out. Instead, a squeaky voice calling his name, and a tiny hand touching his shoulder was what woke him up with a start.

At the touch he was quick to withdraw, almost stumbling over the sleeping dragon whose tail he had used as a pillow. He yelped as he fought to keep his balance, quickly looking around in shock before memories edged back in and he remembered he wasn't even in the same world.

Breanni looked startled, "It's okay, it's okay! It's just me, Mark!"

Mark was trying to catch his breath, startled from the situation. "S-sorry."

"What were you doing sleeping in the stables? Don't you have somewhere to stay?" she looked at him, still wide-eyed.

Mark shook his head. As his adrenaline faded, he began to feel the still lingering exhaustion, rubbing an eye. "S'better than a closet," he remarked. It was true. The hay was cushioning and the tail and wings of his new dragon friend where the closest to a pillow and a blanket he'd had in a very long time.

"Why would you sleep in a closet?"

Mark shook his head, not wanting to answer, replying instead with a yawn and a stretch.

The dragon watched him, seemingly also startled from its sleep from the sudden flurry of activity.

"Don't you want to stay in an inn?"

Mark shook his head again, "I don't even know what the currency is here, which obviously means I have none. How'd I afford it?"

Breanni looked at him in shock. "No money… No bed… You don't seem to have much of anything."

Mark was quick to disagree. "I got a coat." What good it was doing though, it seemed colder today than yesterday, and that chill was making it hard for the reptile to wake up. "Is it colder?"

"Well, we are in Northrend, and it is nearing winter."

Mark groaned miserably.

The dragon stood, making a soft sound as it walked over to drape a wing over Mark.

He snuggled into the warm "hug" of the dragon, grateful for the oxymoron of a warm-blooded lizard.

"Okay you know what," Breanni sounded determined. "Forget work today. Today we are getting you new clothes and a place to stay, and you need to know about where you are anyway. Do you even know the difference between the Alliance and the Horde?"

Mark blinked blearily at Breanni. "Uh… Alliances are willing compliances between nations and a hoard is a massive collection on an obsessive scale?"

Breanni's jaw dropped. "Garrosh Hellscream? Varian Wrynn?"

Mark only sighed, leaning into his dragon. "Words are coming out of your mouth that mean nothing to me."

Breanni waggled her arms. "You! Me. Inn. Now."

The inn was far warmer than the stables, and having warm food in his belly and a mug of hot cider in his hands was reviving the reptilian albino as he listened now to what Breanni was saying, taking in as much as he could, periodically repeating something to get clarification or help it stick.

"S-so why did it take so long to discover Pand…aria?"

"There were mists that hid it from us for ages, they seemed to retreat after a bit." She then went to explain the different areas on the map, as well as some of the exotic species. "Oh and the cloud serpent mounts? They are about like dragons in how intelligent they are. It takes a bit to earn their trust, they tend to be unsure of any being that isn't their partner."

Mark sipped the cider. "Cloud serpents?" he could only picture something similar to the windserpents they already had.

She shuffled through the papers before pulling out an elaborate drawing of one.

Mark looked it over. "Well no wonder, they look like eastern dragons. E-er where I'm from…"

She looked at him as he trailed off. "Well tell me what the differences are between eastern dragons and normal dragons?"

Mark looked for a blank paper and quill, roughly sketching out the different types of dragons.

"The westerns are like your drakes, they were seen as vicious man eaters that stole things and ate virgins and burned villages. Wyverns were like that but without the front legs, from my understanding. Then you had things like the eastern or oriental dragons, looked like your cloud serpents, benevolent beings that were associated with royalty. Chinese had five talons, Japanese had four. And then you get the quetzocoatlus." He struggled sketching that one out. "Complicated fellow, god of … rain? I think. Both good and bad. But then again, lots of the mayan, Aztec, incan, whatever they are culture were weird and shades-of-grey. Whole human sacrificing lot o' em."

Breanni looked at him curiously. "I think that's the most I've heard you talk."

Mark blushed a bit and looked away. "Well …" He didn't know what to say to that.

Breanni giggled. "And there goes that gold again. Say why do you blush that way?"

Mark shook his head and shrugged. Well, he could mention his blood was gold, but he surely didn't know why and didn't feel like getting into that, still terrified after years of fearing what the people would do if they found out.

"Why don't you tell me more about your world?" she tilted her head.

Mark hesitated. "I … don't wanna go back, I know that much. Sure we had cars and stuff but …" his thought was interrupted as a tall nightelf walked in, going to the bar and chatting with the bartender. "… Here seems nicer."

"Well the horde and alliance still don't quite see eye to eye."

Mark shrugged. "Is the alliance just humans?" He already knew the answer, they'd been talking about the racial rift between the two nations all morning after all.

"Of course not."

"Then still seems better."

She gave him an intense stare that seemed to try to bore through him.

Mark shuffled a bit.

"… You're not human, are you?"

Mark's breath left him as his face paled, looking at her in fear, his grip on the mug tightening.

"That's why you don't like your own world. You're afraid of what other humans would do to you. Would explain your blush anyway." She giggled again. "So what are you?"

Mark shook his head again, his knuckles going plaster-white from his grip, trying to calm his shaking to no avail. "I-I don't kn-now."

"It's alright, you can tell me," she smiled warmly. "I'm not human either. Gnome all the way, Honey."

Mark's anxiety wouldn't let up and before he realized how tightly wound he was, the mug shattered from his grip, cider splattering across the scrolls. He let a cry of surprise, jumping back. "I'm so sorry!"

Breanni was quick to gather her scrolls and shake them out. "Ah they're copies anyway, can get them in any old shop," she was rolling up the dry scrolls and putting the books aside.

The commotion seemed to attract the nightelf. He walked up to the table, a towel in one hand and sack in another. That's when Mark noticed that, while he was obviously nightelf, he was obviously … very different. His hands weren't the normal humanoid hands, rather they had three long and clawed fingers, and his feet were far from normal, twisted and shaped somehow more like the feet of a velociraptor, while a long, fur-tufted tail swung lazily out behind him.

"Here," he said softly, "Let me help with that." His voice seemed to form the words easily enough, though something underlying in the words sounded almost feral, as if his throat tried to growl or trill certain sounds, contrary to the human speak lilting from his lips.

The long fingers set to gathering the broken pieces of mug from the table, tucking them into the sack before he brought the towel over to mop up the cider.

"Ah, Nishunel, is that you? I haven't seen you in so long!" Breanni spoke, seeming to recognize the elf. "How is the little fawn doing? And the skunk?"

The nightelf – Nishunel – chuckled a bit, the sound similar to a tiger's chuff rumbling from him. "They are doing splendidly. While I was helping on the molten front, I helped the dryads find some orphaned fawns. I take her down there to play with them from time to time so they don't get too depressed at their loss. And that skunk," he laughed, the sound almost threatening in the chortling roar it resembled. "He seems to think the cats fancy him! He'll go off after one in some romantic spurt and the poor dear is sent tearing off in fear. I have to keep him from my cats so he doesn't cause them grief."

Breanni laughed at the story. "I should've mentioned that, huh? He thinks himself a charmer."

Nish nodded, before noticing something about Mark, turning to him.

Mark flinched a bit, backing away from the imposing elf.

Nish motioned to Mark's hands, his head tilting slightly, making the long ears flex in the motion, revealing one to have a large tear through it that left the lower half of the crest hanging limply from the rest. "Hey," he said, voice dropping to be less intimidating. "You're hands… You're hurting yourself."

Mark looked down at his hands and realized he was still gripping sections of the mug, the serrated edges lanced his skin, drawing thick golden blood in his palms. He squeaked and dropped the shards. "S-s-s-sorry."

The elf knelt to pick up the pieces, tucking them away before pulling out long strips of cloth. "Let me bandage those for you." Though he was kneeling, his head still came to Mark's chest, so he didn't have to crane his head to look up.

Mark instinctively flinched away.

Nish's brow twitched a bit, furrowing for a second in concern and concentration, before he forced himself to look less intimidating. "Please, let me help. I know I'm no healer, I have no skills in the druidic arts that seem to run in my family, but I know my way around first aid, and I don't want you to get infected."

Mark looked down at his hands. They were quivering in a mix of fear and pain, the gold welling up from the cuts. He reluctantly approached Nish and revealed his hands.

This seemed to put the elf at ease, and he quickly went about cleaning the injuries, pulling out any remaining shards, before bandaging them up. "There. If you're worried about scars, try to find a priest or some other healer, they can minimize the appearance of scars with their healing." He stood and smiled down at the albino.

Mark could only shrink at the elf's height. Were they all this tall? And those teeth! He knew he had seen that they had sharper canines on the drawings that Breanni showed him, but this one's seemed sharper, longer…

Breanni's helium-titter broke his train of thought. "He's not from around here."

Nish only grinned down at the gnome barely making it to his upturned heel. "Even if he was, I'm not exactly normal."

This baffled Mark. "Y-you're… not?"

Nish turned his gaze back to the albino, shaking his head as he flexed his fingers and toes, tail swishing behind him. "Nightelves don't have animal digits and tails, unless they're druids, and even druids don't take on raptor forms like this."

Before he realized how rude it could come across, Mark had to ask, "What happened?" Then his face went gold and his hands flew to his mouth. "I am so sorry."

Nish laughed the chortling roar. "No, no, it's fine! I get that a lot. As long as it's not asked in spite, I'm glad to answer. See, it happened a while ago, a shaman-troll from a rogue tribe cursed me to be animalistic enough to make the Alliance uneasy, but remain Kaldorei enough to keep the horde from helping me. For the longest time, I couldn't even speak a non-feral tongue. It's thanks to the help of many spellcasters that I'm even able to speak again." He looked at his hands and feet, almost forlornly, remarking, "They weren't able to remove any aspect of the curse… only amend it."

Mark felt his long ears lifting at the man's story despite himself. "S-so … your stuck like that? N-no offense."

The elf shook his head. "No offense taken… and as far as I know, I am. I've talked to priests, druids, shamans, mages, all practitioners of spoken spells and magical incantations. The best they could manage was to cast a counterspell that overlays the speech impairment. And if only one thing on the curse could be changed, I would've chosen that, so I'm glad they managed that much." He gave the albino a smile.

Mark began to think a bit, gaze drifting down as he mulled over what the tall man said, completely unaware as Breanni scribbled something on a scrap of paper and reached up to slip it into Nishunel's hand.

Nishunel's fingers closed around the paper and he looked at Breanni curiously. She only motioned to the paper, so he lifted it and read it, one long brow flicking a bit as it arched up, before he looked back down at the gnome, head tilting inquiringly. She nodded.

The entire exchange went unnoticed as Mark mulled over what magic could do.

Nishunel cleared his throat. "So … Breanni was obviously trying to teach you something, least I gather from the scrolls."

Mark seemed to be snapped back into the present world as he looked up at Nish, then at the paper. "Y-yea. Until I ruined them."

Breanni only grinned and shook her head. "I promise you, they aren't hard to get, it's okay." She craned her head up. "I was telling him about Azeroth and the nations and all the inhabitants and creatures."

Nishunel's face split into a grin. "The creatures?" His lips parted in a playful smile, revealing his long fangs.

Mark looked at Nish and nodded. "D… Dinosaurs are alive. They're extinct where I'm from."

Nish chuckled, forcing it to be lower. "I'm a hunter, you can meet some of my pets if you want!" He seemed almost eager. "And I can show you around the world!"

"B-but…" Mark looked at Breanni, then Nish.

Nish looked confused. "But?"

"I'm … I mean, I want to … She's got a d-dragon that I'm working to earn."

Breanni nodded. "The albino dragon without a flight? It's taken a real shine to him."

Nish's expression lifted. "Oh really?" He smiled, as if pleased. "That's excellent!"

Breanni smiled and nodded. "Indeed!" Her eyes had what seemed to be a mischievous glint to them, as if she was planning this conversation. "But since the poor thing's somehow just got here with only the clothes on his back, he's gotta work for him."

Nishunel tilted his head, folding his arms as he looked down at the gnome. "Is that so?" He gave Mark a look over, the first actual time he studied the albino since they met.

Mark rubbed his neck shyly, glancing to the side.

"Well," he shrugged his shoulders, turning back to face Breanni, "How much?"

Mark's gaze shot back and he stared at the elf, mouth agape.

"Oh, … a thousand gold." She grinned a wide, scheming smile, blatantly not looking at Mark.

Nishunel unlatched a small satchel from his belt, counting out several coin into his hands.

"Wh-n-no." Mark stammered, finally finding his voice. He held up his hands, moving between them, "Nononononono, don't do that!" He faced Nish as he spoke. "D-don't … do that!"

Nishunel's glowing eyes settled on the albino as his fingers paused their counting. "Why not?"

"D-don't waste your money on me! Especially not that much! I mean, how many is 1000 gold?" he looked at Breanni.

"Uh… a thousand gold. One gold is 100 silver…"

Mark looked between them, then clarified, "How long would I have to work?"

"I can afford it," Nish assured.

"About a month," Breanni answered the question.

"That's a month's wage?!" Mark gaped.

"For a stable hand," Nishunel answered, "But I'm a hunter, an engineer, a tailor, and a fighter for the people. I can afford it," he insisted.

"B-but—" Mark tried to argue, still standing between them.

Nish responded by reaching around Mark's thin form, placing the coin bag in Breanni's hand.

Mark squeaked as he was avoided, "I-I…" He glanced between them, giving an exasperated look.

Breanni giggled, giving Nish a handful of coins in change. "Let's go get him saddled."

Mark looked between them as they moved to walk out of the inn. He quickly gathered the books and scrolls Breanni had brought, before jogging up to them. "H-how am I going to pay you back?"

Nishunel glanced at Mark and smiled, waving his hand dismissively. "Don't mention it."

Mark stopped, gaping, staring after them a moment, before moving to catch up. "B-b-but a thousand?!"

"If you feel you have to pay me back, perhaps you can join me? I can show you the world better than any scroll or book. And if I run into any errands that I need done along the way, you can help."

"B-but what if you don't need help?"

Nish chuckled, "You don't know how much help I do, it would be a strange time if I couldn't find any quests you could help with."

Mark hesitated, "S…So I could help?"

Nish smiled and nodded, "Of course."

They arrived at the stables and Breanni moved towards the dragon, gathering a saddle and tack before going to him. "Now Mark, let me show you how to saddle him up."

Mark put the papers down on the table at the first room before running to catch up, seeing his dragon perk up at the sight of his friend. "Does he … have to be saddled?"

"It will make riding more comfortable for the both of you."

Mark watched as she explained saddling the dragon, surprised that the dragon seemed to enjoy it, shuffling only a little to adjust the saddle.

"And that's it!" She smiled, and lead the dragon to Mark. "Now you put your foot here, and climb on much like a horse… Dragons are a bit more lenient though and will help."

Mark walked up to his dragon, putting his hands on the saddle, startled when the dragon laid down so he could easily climb on. Once he settled down, looked at the dragon.

The pale eyes glided back to twinkle at him, as if he knew what this meant.

Mark's lips finally curled into a smile as he rubbed the neck. "You really don't mind this?"

The dragon shook its head in response.

Mark could only smile and marvel at how easily it understood and could communicate back for something without a voice. He adjusted himself in the seat.

Nishunel chuckled at the bonding, smiling to himself. "Well, I have supplies to get, so we'll be in Dalaran for one more night, then we can start tomorrow."

Mark lifted his head. "What will we start?"

Nishunel looked at Mark, "Well that's up to you. Would you rather learn about history or geography?"

Mark hesitated a moment, thinking over the question. "Well, Breanni helped me with basic history and geography, but I suppose I'd be more interested in history."

"Then tomorrow I'll take you to the Caverns of Time," the tall elf smiled. Even with Mark sitting on the back of a dragon, he was only now eye-to-eye with Nishunel.

Breanni oooo'd and clapped her hands. "Nothing like learning history first hand!"

"Exactly!" Nishunel nodded.

Mark blinked curiously. "First… hand?"

"You'll see tomorrow, I promise." Nishunel seemed almost excited, if not mischievous.

Mark tilted his head a bit. "Okay… Well, what do we do until tomorrow?"

Breanni grinned. "Rest of course! I'm sure you'd feel better after sleeping on an actual bed."

Nish looked at the gnome curiously, head tilting.

Breanni looked up to explain, "I found the poor boy sleeping with his dragon in the stable."

A long eyebrow quirked as the glowing eyes turned to Mark.

Mark only shrugged, fidgeting with the saddle. "I … had no where else, and it seemed a good a place as any."

Nish made a small, sympathetic smile. "Come, you can spend the day resting in the inn."

Mark held up a finger almost defiantly. "I owe you for the dragon, I can't afford an inn."

Nish shook his head. "Just add it to the tab, I guess. It's not like I'm expecting any sort of recompense."

Mark looked at the hunter, almost defeated before he thought, "Well what all is there to see in Dalaran?"

Nish smiled and offered to lead them out. "Many things! A toy shop, a place to get jewelry and places to learn skills. Come, I'll show you around!"

Mark climbed off the dragon, which tailed him as they made their way out of the stables. He stopped a bit, looking back at Breanni.

The small gnome smiled at Mark, waving to him.

Mark managed a small smile, waving back and offering his thanks, before going to follow Nish.

* * *

 _I do not own Warcraft, Breanni, or any of the species, cultures or nations mentioned. I only own Mark and half-own Nishunel (well, I made him, but he's still part of the World of Warcraft universe. XD)_


	3. Shopping Spree

The rest of the day was an elaborate tour of the city, stopping first where Nish needed supplies – an archery shop for a quiverful of arrows and some weapon repair. Other stops were at food merchants to purchase food supplies, before Nishunel made a detour and stopped to show Mark the toy shop. Nish watched the albino explore the toyshop, grinning.

It surprised Mark how each toy seemed to have a life, a spark of their own. Even the train was almost magical, how it filled him with such happiness that he had to resist the urge to chug along with it. He turned then to a display of plushies near the counter. When he looked up, he started at the sight of a robot standing behind the counter. He tilted his head.

The robot shifted, arms swinging with a whirr as it clicked patiently.

Mark leaned in a bit to sniff the robot. Oh, metal rich and with strange exotic flavours… Hmm, made him wonder what kind of metals were here.

Nish watched Mark's interest in the robot curiously, noticing it seemed to go beyond the average fascination to something more calculating, more studious, more …. Hungry?

Mark was carefully looking the machine up and down, using his proximity to breathe in samples of the air around it, carefully trying to pinpoint the different metals. Steel… copper… iron? Hm… He looked at Nish, finally letting his hunger take over. "N-Nish, what kind of metals are there here?"

Nish looked at him curiously. "Many. Copper, iron, tin, titansteel, ghostiron," he began listing all the types, eyes lifting to watch the small plane spinning about on a rope as he counted off the base ores and alloys on his fingers, unaware that the albino licked his lips as he watched him. On his fourth pass over the fingers, he stopped, making a thoughtful face before looking directly at Mark. "I have to pick up some engineering supplies anyway, why don't we go to a blacksmith's shop? There you can see all the different types of metal, and pick up any training you may want." He smiled.

Mark nodded a bit. If he could learn how to get the metal himself, it wouldn't be so obvious. He quickly picked up to go after Nishunel as the tall elf lead the way out of the door into the busy streets.

The white dragon lifted its head as it looked at Mark, before standing and going up to him.

Mark smiled as he rubbed his dragon's neck. "Mister Nishunel?"

"Please, my friends c all me Nish," he turned to smile at her.

"N-Nish… How do you name a dragon?"

Nishunel tilted his head. "Usually they can tell you, or you can find out by asking elder dragons who have taken a humanoid tongue. When we go to the Caverns of Time tomorrow, we can talk with Zaladormu, unless Nozdormu's in. I've been meaning to speak to him lately, but … being the aspect of time is … time consuming." He chuckled to himself.

Mark tilted his head as he followed, the dragon by his elbow as they walked through the bustling streets. "Aspect of Time?"

Nish nodded. "There are five aspects. Or - … Hmm," He distracted himself, rubbing his chin in thought as he made his way through the streets. Many people would move out of his way merely for his size alone.

Mark followed in the wake left behind the elf, waiting for a continued explanation.

Nish shook his head after a while. "That's part of the reason I've wanted to speak to Nozdormu, I'm not sure about the Aspects' fates now. The deal with Deathwing happened so fast that I didn't catch what they said after his fall."

"Deathwing?"

Nish flashed a grin at Mark, "Tomorrow. We're here." He went into an enclave where an anvil sat, blacksmiths and engineers taking turns using it. He motioned to a male human and female bloodelf in the corner. "Those are the blacksmithing trainers, they can answer more questions about the metals on Azeroth. If you decide you want to be a blacksmith, there's a mining trainer a couple doors down that can teach you how to find the metals."

Mark looked between them, slightly intimidated. He glanced at Nish, who merely nodded. "I'll be dealing with the worgen deathknight over there." He motioned to an intimidating wolf-man working on a set of armour. "And don't worry, Polta's not a threat, he's someone I often do business with."

Mark nodded, before taking a few timid steps towards the trainers.

The woman was the first to notice him, tilting her head as she watched him with her green glow. "May I help you?"

Mark nodded a bit. "I-I was wondering what kinds of metals there are? I … am considering mining and blacksmithing." Well, it was half true.

She smiled softly, and began listing an impressive array of ores and alloys, a total of 32, and listing what they were best at, what some metals could work at that others would falter under.

Mark had to bite his tongue. Not only did he recognize some, like copper and tin, some sounded exquisitely exotic, like elementium, saronite and trillium. He finally took a swallow – gracious, did he salivate that much? – then nodded. "I think … I will go find the mining trainer… w-where is he again?"

She motioned to the right, "His name is Jedidiah Handers. Good luck!"

Mark nodded, making a bit of a wave, "Thank you!" He looked over to see Nish still talking to the worgen. Whatever they were discussing was pleasing to the wolf, his lips curled in a smile that revealed his pointed teeth.

Mark turned to go to the street, looking at his dragon and whispering, "The metals here sound delicious."

The dragon chortled a bit as his rider ducked into the next building to pick up training.

Nish finished up his business with Polta, giving the worgen a wave as he looked around. He saw the drake, so his rider couldn't be far. He held a larger crate of metal bars than usual, but it seemed the boy was intrigued, so he figured it couldn't hurt. He put the crate on the ground next to the drake, looking at him curiously.

The drake pointed a nose at the building as Mark came out, clinging to a pickaxe in one hand uncertainly.

"Ah, are you going to blacksmith?" Nish smiled.

Mark grinned sheepishly. "Mine, at least."

Nish lifted a foot to tap the crate with his sickle-claw. "I have some metal bars, managed to get a sample of nearly every ore and alloy on Azeroth."

Mark perked up, "Really?"

Nish smiled, kneeling to open the crate, taking the smaller sample-bars of the other types of metals off the top, listing them. "Copper, Tin, Iron—"

Mark stared at the steadily growing stack of different coloured metals, licking his lips. "C-can I see the Saronite bar?"

Nish nodded and handed over the teal bar to the albino. "Of course."

Mark looked it over, pretending to study it, but instead took a deep whiff. He smiled, whispering under his breath. "Smells fantastic."

Nish's sensitive ears flicked a bit, picking up on the albino's murmur and he tilted his head. "You can smell metals that well?"

Mark looked up at Nish, blushing a bit. "U-uh well…" He fidgeted with the bar.

Nish smiled a bit, "Well, in any case, I got the samples for you to start with blacksmithing or whatever you choose to start with. If you decide on something else, you can sell them for funds for your chosen profession." He began to pack it up. "I'll secure these into the banks, then how about we get you some warmer clothes?"

Mark handed the teal bar back to the elf as he packed it up. "Uhm, … okay."

Nish stood, hefting the crate up. "Well, you will need better clothes for a desert, and much better clothes for here if you decide to stay in Dalaran. Though we'll decide on that later. First, history, then I'll show you the world and the animals." He seemed almost excited for this.

Mark couldn't help but smile a bit at Nishunel's excitement. "Okay." He picked up his pickaxe to follow. His dragon gave him a bit of a nudge and he looked at the white lizard curiously.

The dragon lifted a foreleg to pick at the saddle, revealing a sheath-like object.

"Oh, is that for my … thing?" Mark made sure.

The dragon nodded.

Mark smiled and moved to slip the pickaxe into the hook. "Thanks … I wish I knew what to call you." He looked at the dragon's steely eyes.

The dragon nudged his shoulder, comfortingly, making the boy smile and hug him.

"W-We should catch up, huh?" Mark grinned a bit as he backed up.

The dragon suddenly hefted and twisted, whisking Mark onto his back and trotted to catch up with Nish.

Mark was startled, clinging to the saddle. He looked at Nish as they walked. "So apparently he doesn't mind being ridden?"

Nish grinned at Mark as the drake slowed to match his pace. "Most mounts don't, dragons are a bit harder because they are intelligent and can decide to not want to be a mount. But if they have a companion they trust, they will gladly let them ride."

Mark smiled, rubbing the neck of the dragon as they walked. It came to a halt outside the bank as Nish walked inside. "May I stay here?" Mark asked Nish.

Nish looked at Mark, "Actually, if I'm going to open a bank for you, I need you in. The vaults here are typically blood-sealed so I can't open a bank for you or deposit without you with me."

Mark blinked. "B-blood sealed?" He reluctantly climbed down.

Nish nodded, "It's painless, it's a type of magic." He lead the albino in, before going to a teller and explaining he'd like to access the vaults and purchase a new one.

The teller smiled brightly, "Of course!" Mark wasn't sure if she was just kind, or only happy because money was involved. She lead the way to vaulted walls, motioning to a vacant vault next to Nish's. "We have one right beside yours."

Mark nodded, "That'd be good." He was clinging to his hands, nervous.

Nish first unloaded his share of the bars into his vault, before turning to pay her some gold coin for the safe.

She counted it, before looking at Mark, "You are the one who has to perform the spell."

Mark looked astonished. "Spell? I can't do magic."

She shook her head, "No, no," she chuckled a bit, "The vault has its own magic, you just have to prick your palm, and place it where directed."

Mark looked at Nish, then the lady, obeying her instructions as she told him how to activate the safe's bloodseal. Once it was squared away, Nish unloaded the rest of the bars into the safe, then showed Mark how to unlock the safe. "Good?"

Mark nodded. "Yea, I think so…" he was surprised at how well this worked. "I think I got it."

Nish smiled. "Good! Oh." He paused a moment, reaching back into his vault and pulling out bolts of cloth. "Let's see about making you some better clothes. We'll have to buy some for today and tomorrow, but once I get the pattern down, I'll be able to make you a few new outfits."

Mark backed up a bit. "D-don't you have to measure me?"

Nish looked at the albino curiously. "Well … yea. But if you're shy about being stripped down, I could try to measure around your current attire. It'll just be loose."

"Loose is good." Mark hated tight clothes anyway.

Nish nodded, "Alright. Or better yet, once we get you new clothes, you can change and I'll use the old ones as a template." He smiled.

Mark seemed to relax more, "That'd be best, I think."

"Excellent! Let's get you some clothes then."

Clothes weren't the only thing Nish got for the albino. By the time the day was done, he had gotten him food, some practice weapons to figure out what style he was most comfortable in, other saddle and tack, as well as bags, gear and trinkets to protect and bolster the newcomer.

Needless to say, such an active day wore Mark out. Nish lead him to the central inn, where he purchased an extra room for the albino, leading him up to it. "If you need me," Nish assured, "I'll be in the next room, just to your left."

Mark nodded as he looked around the room. He waited until the door was closed before exhaustedly slumping on the bed, pulling his shoes off, flexing his long toes. He looked at his slender, enlongated feet and sighed. The shoes – proportionally normal for average human – were constrictingly small on his long feet. He walked to the window, tail unwinding from his waist and twisting to stretch out the cramps from holding the position all day. The membranes stretched as he made sure the blinds covered every inch before shrugging off his coat. With the long coat off, he was able to stretch his sore wings, feeling the ever-so-slight air currents of the room caress them. At their span, the tips touched each end of the room. "God," he muttered, "I needed that." He exhaustedly flopped face-first on the bed. "Mmm." It was warm and fluffy, and the silken sheets even felt good to his normally too-sensitive flight membranes. He took a moment to heft himself onto the bed, before curling up and falling asleep, not even taking time to get under the covers. His exhaustion was quick to plunge him into a deep sleep that would silence the world around him. Even the bell tower couldn't wake him, nor when the inn's cat, Jones, managed to sneak into his room and curled up beside him.


	4. Time is a Tangled Web

_(A/N)  
I'm up to date now. I don't know how often I'll update it, but I do have much more planned for this. I hope you don't hate it too much. XD; _

_It seems my usual use of chevrons to denote animal speak won't work on here, so I've had to transition it to this. If a word or phrase is italicized and underlined, it is in an inhuman (draconic, animal) tongue. It might happen more often than not in this story, due to Nish's ... "condition."_

* * *

Come morning, Nish couldn't rouse the albino by knocking on the door.

He tried a few times, but didn't hear a response other than a soft "Mrrrt" from Jones. He shrugged it off. Breanni had mentioned him sleeping in the stables, the boy probably needed it. So he headed downstairs to the tavern. As he sat, he noticed the white dragon waiting patiently outside and hummed thoughtfully, standing to go talk to him.

As he walked out, the dragon lifted his head hopefully.

"Sorry, he's still sleeping." Nish grinned a bit, moving to sit on the edge of the stairs. "Can I ask you some questions?"

The dragon tilted his head, confused at the question, letting a critical churr. _Well, I can't answer…_

Nish shook his head. "It's fine. I've come to understand the basics of draconian because of the troll's attempted curse. I can get enough of what you're saying."

The great white head rolled to the other side.

"For one, what flight are you from?"

The dragon let a slightly irate huff. _I tell everyone that asks me, I don't know. I was stolen as an egg and raised by a brute of a human. When I managed to escape from him, I got captured by an orc. He barely treated me any better._

Nish's expression fell, brows tightening, falling silent in shock.

 _This kind of cycle continued, until a tauren finally broke the cycle of idiotic "masters" and helped raise me, but there came a time I was too big for him to care for anymore, so he gave me to Breanni._

"Were you ever given a name?"

The head shook. _No._ The pale eyes slid down. _The Tauren knew he couldn't keep me and Breanni didn't want to get attached._

Nish lowered his head. "Sorry… to have brought up so many bad memories."

The wings lifted in a sort of shrug. _Those that can speak inevitably ask._

"So do you want to chose a name for yourself?"

 _I'd rather he did it._

"Mark?"

The dragon nodded. _Then I would know for sure if he truly wanted to keep me._

Nish couldn't stop a slight smile. "He's voiced concern at choosing the wrong name for you.

 _Any name he would choose would be fine. I just want to know this isn't another temporary cycle._

"Well, I'll bring it up today. I'm sure he wants this to be permanent. Granted he's still getting used to … everything."

 _He's not from around here at all._ The dragon looked at Nish. _He is no creature of Azeroth, or Outlands. He feared dragons that would eat him. He smells so strongly of human, it was like he came from Stormwind, but bigger. There was no stale scent of any other race on him. The only inhuman scent was his own._

"Breanni mentioned that." Nish looked thoughtful. "It may take him some time to warm up to this area, but she thinks he'll like it here more than his old home."

 _You don't?_

Nish chuckled a bit. "I hardly know the lad. I spent most of yesterday just trying to get him dressed and protected." He looked thoughtful. "If he's supposed to be comfortable now and he's still flinching at the idea of being measured for tailoring, I can't imagine how tense he was when he first came."

 _He wedged himself between a tree and a wall trying to hide from dragons. And totally freaked out when she woke him up and tripped over my tail._

Nish opened his mouth, about to reply, when the bell tolled. He looked up at the sky and hummed. "I should check to see if he's awake." He stood and brushed off his trousers. "Again, I'll bring the idea of a name up to Mark today."

The dragon nodded. _Thank you._

Nish smiled and nodded, turning to go up the stairs. Once at the door, he knocked again. "Mark?" He cracked the door open, "It's almost noon…" He stopped mid-sentence, staring at what he saw. Mark had, during the night, curled around Jones, one wing draped over the edge of the bed, while the other folded awkwardly over him and Jones, tail curling around until the end membranes covered his head in a sort of mask to blot out the sunlight. His deep, heavy breathing signified he was still sound asleep.

Jones squinted sleepily at Nish, purring in greeting.

Nish looked at Jones, then back at the albino. He mewed, _Wings, Jones?_

 _Yes_ , the cat squinted, _Makes a splendid blanket._

Nish looked again at the albino, _Has he been sleeping this entire time?_

The cat's head bobbed ever so slightly, _If it weren't for the wings and ectothermia, I'd think he'd make a grand cat._

Nish finally grinned, chuckling a bit. _We're going to be late getting to the Caverns if he sleeps much longer._

 _Understood_ , Jones stood, stretching with a grunt, his tail flicking across the tail as he did so.

The tail flinched, like someone raked a wire brush against it, and Mark made a rough sniff, head jerking as he tried to wake up.

 _Might wanna pretend you haven't seen. The kid seems self-conscious_ , Jones yawned.

Nish nodded, easing the door closed before knocking again. This time he heard Mark scuffle and Jones jump down. "Mark?"

"Com'n," the albino murmured as Jones scratched at the door. A few minutes later and the door opened, Mark on the other side, in new attire – though under the new fur-lined cloak, the old coat still covered his form. He ran his fingers through his hair sleepily as he yawned. "S'rry," he rubbed an eye.

"Let's get lunch, we're getting a late start." Nish smiled.

"Lunch," he mumbled sleepily, before waking up a bit more. "Lunch?! Have I really slept that late? I'm so sorry!"

Nish chuckled and held up his hands, "No, no, it's fine, you must've needed the sleep! I could've tried to wake you sooner but when the knocking didn't wake you up, I figured it could wait a little longer." He looked back into the room as Jones lazily strolled out. "Do you have everything packed?"

Mark shook his head as he walked back in, hurriedly pushing items into the bag. "J-just a bit!"

Nish nodded, "I'll be downstairs with some food before we get going." He moved to walk down the stairs.

Jones got to his usual sleeping spot near a potted plant as Nish passed, stretching before curling up, _Have fun at the Caverns_.

Nish paused to give the cat a rub behind his ears. _I will, thank you, Jones_.

Mark looked at Nish curiously. "Did … you just meow to that cat?"

Nish looked up at Mark and nodded. "It was a side effect of the curse. I think it was supposed to be a detriment, but being a hunter, it only worked in my favour." He smiled.

Mark got a little nervous. "What … did the cat say?"

"He said to have fun today," he grinned at Mark.

Jones opened an eye, looking at Nish and purring softly, _Keeping a secret?_ He almost looked like he was winking with the other eye closed.

Nish smiled and rubbed Jones' head in approval. "Now let's get some food, Mark."

Mark nodded, walking down beside the cat and stopping, before moving to pet him too. "Thanks for helping me sleep last night, kitty."

Jones heaved a happy sigh, "Mrrrrrrrrrt."

Nish chuckled, translating, "It was his pleasure."

With a warm lunch packed away and the rest of the waning day ahead, they made their way to the violet citadel.

"So the caverns … are inside?"

"A portal."

Mark's head tilted at the elf. "A … portal?"

"Yes…" He lead the way up the stairs to where a mage maintained a swirling vortex with a faintly flickering image. He bowed to her in greeting, and she smiled and nodded.

Mark repeated his actions, albeit a bit awkwardly, earning a polite chuckle behind a hand from the mage.

Nish motioned at the portal, "Now it's like a doorway. You just step through. It might give a bit of a jolt, but nothing more than an electric shock."

Mark nodded as he watched the magic warily.

"First time through a portal?" the mage asked.

Mark looked at her sheepishly, "First time with any magic. Wish me luck." He made a small grin.

She smiled, "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

Mark watched Nishunel stride through the portal without any trouble, and straightened his posture a bit, before following him.

It was a bit of a jolt, but not in a bad way, almost like a surge of energy up his spine. And even his hidden wings felt a rush of energy.

He shook himself a bit on the other side, looking back to see the portal, before glancing around at the area, eyes locking on a bronze-coloured drake that hovered, flinching a bit.

Nish walked up to the drake. "Greetings, may I take my friend to the Caverns of Time?"

The drake nodded, "Of course. Only observe, or we will have to expel you to fix the wrinkle in time."

Mark looked confused, but nodded. "Only observe, understood." He looked around, surprised to see a statue fallen part-way and yet embraced in the mountain wall.

Nish smiled and moved to lead Mark. "This way." He led him deeper into the cavern. As they rounded a corner, there a blue roofed house and a tribal looking hut were also enveloped into the wall of the cave.

Mark looked at the buildings as they passed. "Wh—how did they get there?"

Nish looked up at the buildings as well. "Hm, you know, I don't know. The whole cavern is kinda weird, but … I try not to concern myself with loose ends."

Mark looked back at the buildings as they strolled past, fixed until he turned his head around to pay attention to the next bend. Another building, bigger, with windows still lit in an eerie glow, stood beside a large gap in the wall revealing a starry scene, which Mark first attributed to bioluminescence.

Until they came around the corner. A tree grew on the other side, branches frozen in a summer-time lush reaching for a ringed planet.

"Sa…Saturn?" Mark questioned, pausing.

Nish shrugged, "Not sure what planet it is, but why would the Bronze flight be strapped to Azeroth alone? Time doesn't even apply to them."

Mark looked closer as they continued down into the earth .. ? .. "No, it's got craters, it can't be Saturn," he mused to himself, pausing a moment. He had to stop his gawking and catch up as Nish travelled on.

A tattered cloth on a post stood before a doorway hewn in the cavern's wall. He looked in curiously, to see a man inside at a table. The man looked up, smiled at Mark and waved.

Mark slowed his gait a bit to wave back, surprised. He looked ahead to see block-built walls and columns erupting from the stone. He looked around, gaping at the ceiling and the surrounding area, losing track of Nish as he moved to touch one of the columns.

After a few more steps, he looked ahead, a clock tower and more cosmic displays catching his eyes. He trotted up to the area to see the path split in the middle, one path going higher and the other lower. He looked at the clock, going to the base and looking up. The hands were locked in the time 2:57. He wondered what happened at such a time that it was immortalized. He turned his gaze to study the sky, catching another planetary ring just barely hidden by the stone of the cave. When Mark's gaze turned further downward, he saw a twisting river of purple ether on the side of the cavern wall. He was baffled. "Nish, what's—" he looked around. He'd lost the nightelf. "Nish?" He looked around, anxious.

That's when a small cry caught his ears and he flinched. He slinked to the split path, peeking down over the edge.

What he saw chilled his already ectothermic heart.

Two golden bipedal dragon-like beings were surrounding a small, tiny little dragon whelp with black scales and glowing blue skin. They had already struck it across the face, making blood trickle down the narrow muzzle as it tried to dart away.

One of the dragon creatures struck down, the spear ripping through the wing, making the little whelp fall to the ground with another cry of pain.

Before he realized what he was doing, Mark had lept down, blocking the larger dragons from their victim. "It's a hatchling, what are you doing?!"

One snarled at Mark, pointing the spear at his throat. "It is an infinite whelp, its kind has been trying to unravel the past as long as they've been around!"

Mark looked at the whelp, which was staring at him with wide blue eyes, as if it couldn't believe he was defending it. He then looked back at the draconids, brows dipping down uncharacteristically low in a frown. "What damage could one that size do?"

"Whelps were causing havoc in the Black Morass!" the second draconid countered.

Mark set his jaw as he looked at them defiantly, two spearheads pointed directly at his throat. "I won't let you hurt a _hatchling_."

"Mark!"

The draconids' great heads turned to the dark elven form. "Nishunel," one regarded him.

"Dimordu, Sordu, I promise he means no harm," Nish addressed the two. "Just tell me what's going on?"

"He's defending an infinite whelp!" the first one bellowed.

"You know what that flight has tried to do to the history of Azeroth! You yourself had to foil their plans on several accounts."

With the larger draconids distracted talking to Nish, Mark turned to pick up the little hatchling, holding it protectively close to his chest, repeating his defense, "It's just a hatchling!"

Nish looked at the small, bleeding whelp in Mark's arms, then at the larger dragons, "The Infinites don't even let whelps that small battle. The ones in the Morass were at least twice his size. He's probably just a runt."

An undignified, slightly garbled snort came from Mark's embrace.

Nish's golden eyes rolled a bit as he looked at the whelp. "You are far too small for any normal hatchling… You are a runt."

The larger draconids looked at each other, then the hatchling. "What is it doing here?"

The thing whined and sulked against Mark.

The two draconids exchanged looks, before one pointed a spear at Mark's throat again.

"Listen to me, boy, if that whelp leaves your side, we _will_ defend this cavern and timeline, weakling runt or not, so you better keep an eye on it."

Mark had flinched, moving to shield the hatchling with his body, before looking at them, then Nish, then back at the guards. "Understood."

They reluctantly backed away, grumbling to each other.

Mark looked at the small whelp, carefully trying to wipe blood from the nose. "What did you say to them?"

" _I am a tiny dragon, they thought me weak and worthless._ " Nishunel answered.

Mark looked at Nish, startled, "He said that?"

Nish nodded, moving to pull a small vial of red liquid out, uncorking it and offering it to the little whelp. "Drink up."

The dragon did as told, the magical elixir healing the injuries.

Mark continued to hold onto the little whelp. "What's .. what's your name?"

The dragon looked up at him, letting a small whine.

Nish smiled softly. "His name is Mordnuzo."

Mark blinked and looked at Nish again. "You … understand?" Suddenly his face lit up. "You can ask the dragon what his name is!"

Nish looked down. "Actually I was talking to him this morning. He has none. He was hoping you would name him."

Mark blinked a few times in rapid succession, tilting his head. "M-me? But what if I choose wrong? Is there some sort of .. method to naming?"

"Normally the flights have names related to their flight, but since he has no flight –"

"Why doesn't he?"

Nish looked a bit sad. "He was stolen as an egg."

Mark's shoulders slumped a bit, embrace on the little whelp tightening a fraction. "As an … egg?"

Nish nodded. "So he has no flight and no name, and has been cycled through several 'owners', most of them cruel, before ending up where he is now. The ones that were cruel didn't name a "monster" and the ones that were kind knew they wouldn't keep him so didn't want to risk it."

Mark understood, lowering his head to look at Mordnuzo thoughtfully.

The small whelp looked back up at Mark.

The sight of those big, luminescent blue eyes made Mark smile a bit. "I'll think of something. We have a schedule to keep, don't we?"

Nish grinned a bit. "Sort of… Time down here doesn't really apply."

Nish's words were truth. By the time they had gone through all the major events in Azerothian history, they had literally spent days in the caverns, even resting in some of the strange buildings in the walls, but the sun was barely setting when they returned to Dalaran, Mark was shocked to learn that it was only the dawn of the next day.

"What about all the time in the Caverns?" He looked at Nish, confused.

Nish seemed thoughtful, before blinking and looking at Mark. "Excuse me? Oh, I told you. The Caverns are not tied to laws of time and place."

"Is something wrong?" Mark was concerned, he hadn't known Nish to space out.

"Nozdormu is off somewhere again and I was hoping to ask him some questions about the Aspects." He sighed a bit. "It'll have to wait. For the former aspect of time, he sure seems to waste it." He turned to Mark. "Have you thought about a name yet?"

Mark hesitated. "I … have an idea. Do you think he'd mind Finlay? If I remember correctly, it's from an Irish name meaning White Champion or something like that. There's also the Chinese name Bai, which is White or pure or many … something like that. Depends on the characters used…"

"Hm. Ultimately the decision is up to you two."

Mark nodded, thinking.

As if on cue, his dragon came trotting up to them with a cheerful whuff.

Mark smiled. "Hey." He kept one arm cradling the currently sleeping Mordnuzo, but reached out to rub the sinewy neck. "So I've been trying to think of a name and I got two choices, but … I don't know which one you'd want…"

The dragon's head lifted hopefully and tilted to one side.

"Well there's Bai which can have three meanings, or Finlay that means white champion. Which would you prefer? Or … uhm…" Mark hesitated.

The dragon seemed to think before making a chuff.

Nish chuckled. "He says he likes Finlay."

Mark smiled, then moved to hug his dragon. "Then Finlay it is."

The dragon's tail almost wagged as it draped its head over Mark's shoulders in a happy dragon hug.


	5. Idle Banter

_A/N: Sorry about the boring chatty-ness of this chapter. I wanted to work on the story but this was all that came out. XD; Though at least in this keyboard-vomit-tacular chapter, I know where to go next!_

* * *

Nishunel gathered two dishes full of food before taking them outside the inn to a grassy park in the centre of Dalaran. There was Mark, in the middle of Finlay's curled form, with a little Mordnuzo on his shoulder. "I hope you're hungry!"

Mark nodded. "Starving."

"Good." Nish handed a plate to the albino, before sitting down himself.

Mark took a big bite of the red meat, before offering a section to the whelp on his shoulder. "Say," he murmured around a mouthful of food. "You mentioned aspects. How many aspects are there?"

"There were five. Time, dream, magic, life, and earth. Nozdormu, Ysera, Kalecgos, Alexstraza and … well, first Deathwing, then Thrall." He then held his hands up, "Don't ask me about them now because I have no idea." He chuckled a bit, before returning to his food. "I seriously want to talk to Nozdormu sometime." He was interrupted by an inquiring churr from Finlay. "Well, Alexstraza dodges my questions, I know she's easier to find but she's not easy to talk to. Nozdormu always seemed to be the one who could explain anything without worry."

Mark looked between them, before sighing hopelessly. "How can I learn Dragon? I want to be able to talk with him."

Nish shook his head. "It's not easy. I only know rudimentary draconian because of the curse, and I'm told when I try to speak it, I'm worse than a newly hatched whelp." He chuckled sheepishly.

Mark tilted his head, thinking. "Can… Magic make someone … normal?"

Nish blinked at Mark, confused. "Pardon? Well there are some illusions that can make you look normal, but nothing that could fix my curse. How the shaman even got a hold of such a spell is beyond so many casters. Dragons, druids and shamans have some shapeshifting abilities, but even they have preferred forms, and it's usually only on themselves. Mages can polymorph, but that's temporary. And embarrassing. I don't like being a sheep, thank you."

Mark seemed a bit disheartened at this. "Oh…"

Nish tilted his head. After a pause, "If you don't mind my saying so, being 'normal' is highly overrated. If I was still 'normal', I wouldn't be able to speak to many beasts, I wouldn't have made some of the friends I had. I'd probably still be in Darnassus, living in idle contentment."

"Yea, well," Mark's tone had fallen, "Being a monster ain't all it's cracked up to be, either." His gaze was down at the now half-empty plate of food.

Nish watched him warily, the statement striking a nerve. "No, it isn't… But you have to remember, 'monster' is a relative term." Pain laced his words.

This made Mark look up with a start. "Oh, no, no I didn't mean – I was talking about – Oh god, Nish I didn't mean you, I'm so sorry." His face was burning in embarrassment, blushing vividly gold. "I just –"

Nishunel raised a hand to silence him, the boy's frantic embarrassment banishing any lingering upset he had, smiling a bit to comfort the boy. "It's fine, really."

"I honest to god didn't mean you!" He was nearly hysterical.

Nish chuckled. "I know, I know, it's okay!" He put his hands on Mark's shoulders, "Really, calm down."

Mark looked down, stiffening under the large hands instinctively.

"Really, it's fine. Just, don't try to change yourself to fit into the ideology of someone who doesn't give two copper about you as an individual, okay? They're a waste of time." His glowing gaze sought the downcast glowing eyes. "Hey, okay?"

Mark reluctantly looked up to lock gazes, nodding a bit. "Okay."

Nish smiled comfortingly. "Good." He let go and sat back down to continue eating.

Mark picked his plate up and started eating too, before he paused and looked at Nish. "Hey, what dinosaurs are alive?"

Nish blinked and looked at Mark. "Hm?"

Mark shrugged. "Where I'm from, dinosaurs are extinct. I saw raptors and a t-rex looking one in the stables."

Nish nodded as he finished his meal, putting the plate aside. "Well, direhorns, devilsaurs, raptors, pterosaurs, dimetrodons. … Not sure how many are like the ones you'd be familiar with, though."

Mark tilted his head. "Direhorns?"

Nish nodded. "Three horns on the face, frill, armored back, club tail…"

Mark's eyes widened. "Like a triceratops and ankylosaur's crackbaby?"

Nish stared at Mark. "Uhm … what?"

Finlay chuckled next to Mark.

Mark blinked and looked between the two, "Uh …. Uhm. Can we just see the dinosaurs next?"

Nish acquiesced and nodded. "Sure. Eat up, we'll rest here for one more night then I'll take you to the Isle of Giants. Then later we can go to Un'goro Crater."

Mark nodded and began to gulp down his food.


End file.
